


Surprise Visit

by PancakeHeart



Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, I didn’t put romance in here but bOY DID I WANT TO, it isn’t even said right, me showing up 20 minutes late with Starbucks, merry chrysler everybody, not a maxaac fic surprisingly!!, there’s like one (1) curse word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-09-30 23:16:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17232998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PancakeHeart/pseuds/PancakeHeart
Summary: Celebrating Christmas has always been a difficult subject for Max since certain events.Luckily for him, he doesn’t have to go through this alone.





	Surprise Visit

**Author's Note:**

> Merry (very late) Christmas everyone :,3

The corner store’s bell ringing made Max look up from the game he played on his phone to attend the newcomer, only to meet up with very familiar smiles and greetings 

“Oh, hey guys.” A snow riddled sled and a rope were loudly placed on top of the table beside the register. Max stared blankly before moving his eyes to Isabel who was standing in front of him ‘excitement’ written all over her face.

“Getchu a pair of gloves and a jacket. We going sledding.” Her nose and cheeks were blushed from the cold she had been exposed to outside and Max doubted that a jacket was going to protect him from the degrees he would be met up with.

“What’s with the rope.”

“Sometimes we don’t find many ramps to slide down from so one us ends up driving us around.”

“Oh, so you came to have another sled dog at your service. Fun, fun.”

“Welcome to hell. Glad to see that we have another victim.” Isaac commented rubbing his wrists and hissing, reminiscing the strength he had to put into it to drag the sled with his two friends in it. 

“Wouldn’t your powers help you with that?”

“Oh yeah, Max. ‘Cause getting arrested by the government would be the best Christmas present for us, of course.”

“I meant just a little push from the wind, not to go all Stormageddon on them.”

A strong gust suddenly hit Max right in the face, the force of it even making his hat fall from his head.

“Like that?”

“Wow, what if we had security cameras Isaac? What if my dad checked them? You would be done for. “My son gets bullied by a weather powered psychic!” he would say.”  
Which wasn’t really realistic. They made their customers pull a rope that made the lamp in their living room fall onto the floor if they happened to be upstairs for Christ sake.  
Now thinking about it, with all the money they’ve had spent to buy a new lamp to replace the broken one, they could have gotten a security camera installed by now.

Speaking of the devil.

Max looked over his shoulder at his dad. The grown man going up the stairs, energetically jumping from two sets with each step, was holding Christmas lights dangling all over his arms with some other tree ornaments that ended up tangled around the cables falling and making sparkles of dust fly away, sign of the long years they had been sitting inside a box. The objects were soon being picked up by his daughter, who sighed as she rolled her eyes and nodded at the club members before going up the stairs along with her dad.  
Max had decided to volunteer on watching the store leaving his sister the job to help their father decorate the living room. He really wasn’t the kind of person to be stoked about Christmas to begin with. 

And the chances of him becoming one disappeared long time ago.

Even then, the growing feeling of guiltiness kept getting stronger every year. Knowing his father tried his best and Zoey just wants to be excited during Holiday times like every other kid her age but couldn’t do so because of the never ending pessimistic aura of her brother—

“He looks more... energetic than usual.”

Max came back from his thoughts, turning his gaze back to fidget with his phone and hummed. “Yeah, he’s been trying to bring the “Christmas spirit” back for some time now...” He coughed. “Anyway, let’s... let’s go.” He opened the countertop door, stepping close to the stairs so his family could hear him. “Dad! I’m going out!”

“Y-you are?! I was expecting you to join us but... of course, son! Have fun!”

_God, not that voice. C’mon..._

Max opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it. His gaze switched between where his family had gone up to and his friends in front of him before deciding on staring at the floor. _He had to try someday, shouldn’t he?_  
And it’s not like he was sad. I mean, if you don’t count the void emptiness in his stomach of course. That thing appears since the first moment he opens his eyes on a Christmas morning and stays for days.

“...Guys, I think—”

“You mind if we join you?! Thanks!” Isabel didn’t even wait for Max to answer, going up the stairs and being followed soon after by a grinning Ed under Max’s wide eyed stare. He moved his head to the side when he felt the bump of Isaac’s shoulder against his, being rewarded with one of those smiles he’s been starting to show to the club so much lately, before he went up the stairs following their friends.

“Woah! Huh, didn’t expect to have visits but I sure ain’t complaining!” The rustling of leaves -or well, plastic leaves since the family came to the conclusion they really didn’t want to drag an actual tree up the stairs- along with the struggle that could be heard in his father’s voice made Max know his family was starting to put up the Christmas tree. “We... might need some help with the decoration.”

Max stared at the ceramic tiles under his feet, the voices of his self invited guests and his family echoing from above the living room. “Alright...” Max sighed, not being able to help the way his lips turned upward as he followed the noise.

* * *

“Dad, when you said you would decorate the tree while I was watching the store... I didn’t think that would mean you would leave all rational thought while doing so.”

“What do you mean, son of mine.”

“You’re standing on two chairs.”

“We gotta put up the Christmas lights somehow.”

“I mean, he has a point.”

“He really doesn’t, Ed.” Max said. The sound of wood creaking and the shout of his dad as he tried to balance himself in the wobbly chairs he stood on made Max ponder on wether he should gather a couple of pillows on the floor around his father.

“Mind If I lend a hand, sir?” Ed asked, walking over to the man careful not to touch the chairs beside him.

The man smiled, managing to tangle the lights on the top of the tree. “‘Course not! Actually, if you could put the lights properly around the tree down there it would be very much appreciated.” Max was sure that was because he didn’t know how to get down from that death trap he made for himself but he’ll give his dad the benefit of the doubt.

“Uh, you need a little help there?” Max turned when he heard Isabel right on the other side of the tree, watching his sister standing on her tiptoes as much as she could to put an ornament in one of the tree’s branches.

“And attempt to crack my head open like my dear father over there? I’d rather put these up like this.”

Isabel chuckled before shaking her head. “No, I mean I could lift you up if you want to.”

At that the girl turned, wide eyes glowing like the Christmas lights her dad was putting in the tree. “Really? You don’t mind?”

“Nope!” Isabel smiled and wrapped her arms around Zoey from behind and easily lifted her off the floor making the girl laugh while trying to maintain balance to hook the ornament in it’s place.

Max smiled and looked to his side when he sensed eyes on him, surely enough Isaac was staring at him and his grin warned the start of a joke. Max raised an eyebrow before asking “what?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking if you might need help too.”

“Oh, ha, ha. Just you wait. We’re barely two centimetres away, Isaac. In less than a year you will be eating your words.”

“Just like you should be eating more vegetables if wanna achieve that. You barely eat properly.” Zoey said, now with her feet on the ground while Isabel handed her one by one small decorations from the box beside them.

“And _you_ should learn to not get in other people’s conversations.” Max replied narrowed eyes at his sister, who repeated his words in a exaggerated high voice under her breath making him roll his eyes.  
Apparently the conversation had ended as he silently reached for an opened box near him taking one of the ornaments inside and trying to disentangle the tinsel around it.

“The face when your sister actually has a point and you’ve got nothing to comeback on her.” Ed’s comment broke the silence by making the all people in the house snort and Max loudly groan in exasperation.

“Savage.” 

“Thanks, dad.”

* * *

“I swear if I hear another Christmas carol on loop again I will throw myself out the window.”

“Why. _All you want for Christmas isn’t us_?”

“Seems like _a storm is coming to town_.”

“Let it snow.”

“Ed’s was simplest and yet the most fitting. 6/10, guys. You’ve done better.”

After taking their time to decorate the Christmas tree -and helping Max’s dad get down from the tower of chairs he had made for himself-; the children had decided to turn on the radio (a decision Isaac was starting to regret) while putting the decoration boxes away and sweeping the floor, even though Max and the rest of the family had insisted they didn’t have to help.

“You guys staying for dinner right?” Max’s dad asked after coming back from putting the boxes back downstairs.

The club exchanged gazes before smiling and shrugging. “If that’s okay with you, Mr. Puckett!”

The man started to go back to the kitchen as he said “‘Course it is! We might actually finish the turkey this time then!”

“Oh, thank god.” Murmured both daughter and son.

“Was it that bad?” Isaac asked snickering.

“ _Last Christmas he gave us turkey, but the very next day we puked it away._ ”

“5/10, yours just keep getting worse, huh.” Isaac’s raised eyebrow was received with a shrug and a satisfied grin from Max.

“It was mostly because he put too much pepper in it. This time it could be better since we have visitors though.” The way Zoey crossed her fingers as she explained their last holidays made Max snicker. At least she was optimistic. “That and we ate leftover Christmas food for nearly three days so thank you for coming.” 

“Man, having dinner here sounds exciting.” Isabel commented from her spot sprawled on the carpet. Max wondered if she had noticed it was covered with a mix of gold and silver glitter from the boxes with decorations that had been sitting around minutes ago.

“Your grandpa doesn’t mind?” Max decided to ask.

“Less people to cook for means less dishes to wash.” Ed chimed in, playing with one of the ornaments they decided to discard because it had the hook broken.

“Bold of you to assume he would be doing any of those things.” Isabel said, not even moving her gaze from the ceiling while signing to Ed so he would throw her the small tree decoration. Thank God it was made of plastic.

“Oh right, the students.” As soon as those words left Ed’s mouth his lips closed in a thin line, the unreadable expression for some, already known for the Activity club: regret. He passed the ball to Isabel who caught it with one hand not even flinching, her spectral energy starting to make its appearance around her.

“Students? Students of what?” Zoey tilted her head and behind her Max pressed the palm of his hands together bringing them under his nose. Isaac was completely focused on the phone in his hands as he tried to nonchalantly scroll through some messages displayed in the screen.   
Right, because his tense shoulders and completely upright position in the couch and, even though it was invisible for Zoey, blue spectral energy dancing above him were the _definition_ of nonchalant.

_Again, how has this club survived this long?_

“Uh... judo.” The ornament danced between Isabel’s fingers as she answered the question. “We’ve got a dojo and all.”

“Woah, cool.”

“Right?”

Oh no, Zoey was gonna ask more question. Max could see it the way she leaned forward from her seat in the floor next to Isabel.

Max clapped his hands together making everyone jump, their eyes laying on him. “Right! I’m going to the kitchen now!” And with that he bolted from the living room towards where his father was and where he could get away from that panic-inducing conversation. He likes to hope they’ll keep from revealing they’re ghost-seeing weirdos to his _eight year old_ sister on their own.  
There’s no way they could be that bad at lying... _Right?_

Entering the kitchen the strong smell of onion hit Max’s nose making him grimace. “Onion salad?”

“No. Onion soup this time!” His father replied slicing said vegetable making the knife hit against the wooden cutting board.

Max suddenly stopped pacing around, eyeing his dad suspiciously. “Since when do you know how to make onion soup?”

“Since I decided to google the recipe.” He kept cutting the onions happily humming until he speaked again when he still felt Max’s stare still on him. “That is to say, since right now.”

“And you want to try it out now?” Max brought his hands to his head, tangling his fingers above it. Right when they have guests staying for dinner his father wants to start a fire in the house.

“Well, it’s a special day! And I wanna make something nice for all of us!” Max sighed defeatedly at his father’s words.

The man leaned slightly to the side to look at their visitors from the kitchen entrance, who were now trying to teach a hand-clapping game to Zoey but they seemed to be struggling to remember how it was done correctly making his sister even more confused. Max unconsciously snickered at the scene looking back up at his dad when he heard him speak “You’ve got very nice friends, Max.”

Max sighed while nodding. “Yeah... Yeah I know.” He stayed silent until he felt his father’s gaze on him and looked up quizzically. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing!” His dad chuckled getting down on eye level with him. “I love ya, bud. Always remember that, alright?” One of his dad’s hand got a hold of his hat as he ruffled his hair with the other and he gave him a light kiss on Max’s forehead before putting his hat back in its place. He didn’t say more than that but Max could read it in his dad’s voice.

Every Christmas he locked himself up in his room. And when the wound seemed to be healing, he would find his house far too big for them and he would need to get away. Even though his father and his sister were decorating the place or cooking. Even though they were celebrating like he should.  
After all those years, it was nice seeing Max smile along with them again.

“Ah.” Hugging his dad as tight as he could before he could see the tears that were starting to form in his eyes seemed to be the best decision for Max in that moment. And so he did. 

If he surprised his father when he suddenly wrapped his arms around his torso, he didn’t mention it.   
“Love you too.” He probably did when he said that with a cracked voice though.

His dad started gently giving soothing strokes on his back, repeatedly kissing his head and Max took hold of his hat when he felt it slipping, not feeling like complaining about the sudden affection from his father in the moment.

“‘M sorry.” He felt the hug from his father grow stronger right when the words left his mouth, trying to maintain his sobs from coming off his throat.

“Don’t be, Max.” He didn’t say much more, his hand was now caressing the back of his son’s head. Max nodded against his shoulder.  
A sigh came out his dad and with two final kisses on top his head he said “now, now, why don’t we get started with this soup, huh? Your old man is actually having some trouble here.”

Max blinked before chuckling against his dad’s shoulder and reaching for his face, wiping the tears from his cheeks. “Okay, dad.”

* * *

After dinner (that surprisingly didn’t end in total disaster) his father had suggested watching a movie with everyone. Since they didn’t all fit in the sofa they decided to go all out and gather all the sheets and pillows of every size to put them right in front of the TV. Max tried to not show his excitement when he joined the club inside the fortress they made for themselves while his father and sister took the sofa.

And he doesn’t know when but somewhere around their second Christmas themed movie Max had been taken over by sleep. 

However, during the night the even breathes Max let out during his sleep were suddenly stopped as he sucked in breath when he felt what he thought was the palm of a hand press against his mouth.

“Theh fhug—!”

“Shh, language.” He heard a whisper from the distance and once his eyes adjusted to the dim lit room Max could see the figure of a snickering Isaac with Ed beside him crouching next to him.

“Was that language? It sounded more like gibberish to me—”

“Guys! Shh!” Max looked over at the hand still pressing onto his mouth, following the arm to be met with Isabel, not looking at him but to the sleeping form of his sister above the sofa in front of them. She stirred from side to side for a moment before humming in her sleep deciding on a comfortable position to keep on dreaming beside her snoring father.  
Isabel sighed in relief and finally removed her hand from Max’s mouth under his judging gaze.

“And what did you wake me up for may I ask?”

“Your son says he’s got a present for us.” Isabel whispered trying to not wake up Max’s family and pointed at the ghost Max hadn’t noticed flying around above them giving a shy wave.

Max smiled sitting up from the laid position he had on the floor and scrunched one leg up “Do you really?”

PJ fidgeted with his fingers as he nodded giving a small smile “I hid it in your room to show it to you in the night but you guys had gone to sleep before I could show you.”

“Well, we’re awake now!”

PJ smiled before excitedly floating towards Max’s room expecting to be followed by the others.

“Wait, hold up.” Max raised an arm making the others wait for him with confused expressions. 

Max walked over to the glass of milk and plate of cookies they had left on top of the table for so called Santa Claus and grabbed the drink, chugging it in one go.  
He walked back to his friends, the ginger wearing a shit-eating grin and the other two trying their best to muffle their laughs with their hands.

“What. I was thirsty.”

“The small baby needs his milk to grow taller.” Isabel cooed making Ed nearly laugh out loud and Max’s frown grow even deeper.

“Oh, f— Laugh all you want, just you wait.” He mumbled.

They took one step near his room’s door before Ed called back “wait, wait”, he went back to where Max had been, taking one of the cookies in the tray and putting it in his mouth as he tiptoed back beside them, “Okay, lesh go.” He said, mouth full of the baked treat.

“Geez. I took the milk because I know my dad doesn’t really like it. Now you’re just being greedy.”

“Why would your dad eat Santa’s cookies?”

Max stopped on his tracks and stared at Ed over his shoulder. He really couldn’t read any expression through his glasses. “You know, I’m just gonna ignore that.” Ed laughed as he continued his walk to his room, Isabel’s chuckles following soon enough.

Once all of them entered Max’s bedroom they were met with a very nervous PJ, floating from side to side around the room. He stopped when he noticed the group entering and approached them with a timid smile.

“Okay so uuh... I’ll need you to close your eyes so I can get it.”

“Mysterious, alright.” Isabel chuckled and covered her eyes with one hand giving her back to the ghost. Isaac put both hands on his eyes as Ed grinned as he painted his glasses completely black with his tool —which Max was sure he would regret once he realises what he’s done— and putting them back on, giving a thumbs up.

Max closed his eyes and lowered his hat so it covered half his vision even if he decided to open them.

“We’re ready.” He said and tried not to laugh when he felt PJ wave a hand in front of him.

The ghost got next to Max’s night table, looked at the last drawer below, the one Max didn’t really use at all and searched around for his tool. He looked up when Lefty floated close to the cabinet. “No, Lefty. I wanna do it on my own!” The hand gave him an ‘ok’ sign as he took hold of his tool.   
It was when PJ tried to use the back of the toilet plunger as a lever to open the drawer that Max decided to open one of his eyes even though he couldn’t look at anything except for Isaac beside him from his peripheral vision.

“You alright there?”

“Yes, yes! Just a moment!” PJ said and Max went to close his eyes again until he saw a small move from his friend beside him. He snickered giving Isaac a light touch with his elbow.

“Hey, no peeking.” He whispered. Isaac pouted, glancing at him from the small space he had been looking from between his fingers, and stuck out his tongue as Max mimicked him before they closed their eyes again.

“I got it!” Max heard the rustling of the wooden drawer opening and then PJ whispering again “Lefty, I think I do need your help now, please.”

Something similar to hard plastic or aluminium bumped against the floor and then his wood hit wood, the drawer closing again.

“Okay, be careful now, thank you.” The ghost let out a relieved sigh and finally turned to the club. “You can open your eyes now!”

As soon as he opened his eyes Max’s gaze focused on a very nervous PJ bumping the heel of his hands together. “It probably doesn’t look very appetising... We had a small accident with the oven but...” PJ pointed with his index finger towards the plastic tray sitting above Max’s bed.

Max slowly walked towards the tray, being soon followed by his friends. “These are...”

“Activity Club cookies.” PJ finished with a shy blush dusting his cheeks. “I tried my best to make them look similar! Lefty helped a lot too even though he doesn’t want to admit it.” The hand jumped at the mention of his name and energetically shook his finger making PJ smile. The boy swallowed watching his friends’ stares never leave the baked treats. “All the way over there is um... Mr. Ed, who I never got to know very much but... uh... I- I hope it’s okay-!”

Ed, with ink all over his shirt since he had tried to wipe his glasses with it, grabbed the cookie between his fingers as an endearing smile began growing in his face. “I can barely see but these are freaking adorable.” The blond pointed at his cookie, holding it close to his grinning face “My glasses are white m&m’s.” Then he turned to PJ, smile never disappearing. “Thanks!”

The ghost returned the smile and nodded before glancing back down to the tray and pointed “then, there’s sca— I mean, Mrs. Isabel!”

The person shaped cookie, with pieces of black liquorice above the head, had red and white icing messily spread around the upper body and Isabel giggled raising an eyebrow. The boy stuttered raising his voice as she held the cookie between her hands. “W- We realised a little too late that making a jacket was quite difficult with icing but-...”

“PJ, I love it.” The girl cut the boy’s nervous explanation and took the cookie, giving it a small bite in the foot “And they taste amazing!” She said smiling up at him which seemed to calm the ghost and nod shyly with a growing smile.

“I’m assuming this one’s me?” Isaac smiled, toying with the biscuit already in his hands. Probably one of the most colourful of all of them. PJ sure did a lot of work to make the appropriate icing fit all of them.

“That, yes!”

“And here I was so excited to be the candy corn hair dude.” Max’s comment didn’t seem to get on the ginger’s nerves as he only clicked his tongue at him before continuing to thank the boy for his gift.

“Next time we’ll put candy corn in yours too if you want, Max!”

Max chuckled before shaking his head “I’m joking, PJ. Really, this is very nice.” He held the baked sweet and his gaze softened when he focused on the bits of purple m&m’s around the head that Max guessed resembled his hat. “In fact,” he cleared his throat when his voice cracked, “I would say this is one of the best Christmas gifts I’ve had in a while.” Max ignored the knot inside his throat the best he could as he gathered courage to look up at PJ even in danger that someone would notice his glassy eyes. He laughed at the face of total giddiness that he was met with.

“I’m glad! I really am! I’m happy you like them.”

Max caressed the messy grey icing around the cookie’s torso and then observed his friends’. All of them had different type colours and decoration. It could be seen the thought PJ had put in all of them. “Ah, but PJ. There’s a member you forgot to bake.”

The boy was staring at his hands which he was happily fidgeting with, making his fingers snap from time to time before looking up when he realised he had been addressed. He tilted his head and his eyebrows went up at Max’s words. “Huh? There’s one more classmate that fights bad spirits along with you?”

“Not a classmate. But yes.” Max pointed his finger at PJ, who stared at him confused before widening his eyes. He looked around at the rest of the club who only offered kind smiles.

The ghost slowly looked back at Max and placed his index finger at his chest whispering “me?”

“Of course, dude!”

“I—... I didn’t think—...”

“Well, at least we’ve got plans for next Christmas now don’t we?” Isabel nibbled the liquorice in her cookie and shared looks with the club as they nodded, then she grinned at PJ. “You deserve your own cookie! Let’s bake together next year.”

It was with pink blushed cheeks that PJ nodded excitedly at the group in front of him as Lefty patted his head sweetly.

“Hey everyone, I wanna take a picture of these before Isabel makes hers end up bald so— Ed please don’t eat your eyes yet.”

* * *

“Well,” Max‘s whisper broke they silence they had fallen into to not wake up his sleeping father and sister as they tried to lay back into their makeshift beds in the floor, “now I know the reason to why my father never found flour and the cutters to make gingerbread cookies.”  
The club tried not to laugh loudly muffling their sounds as best as they could with their hands or nearby pillows.

“We really should sleep before we wake someone up.”

Max hummed as he got comfortable inside the covers of his part of the fortress they had made together. He fidgeted with the hem of the sheet before speaking up, his voice not much louder than a whisper. “Hey, I, umm...” Max swallowed trying to find the words he’s been trying to say for the whole day. “Thanks, guys.” Close enough.

He watched as Isabel raised a hand, waving it dismissively while not even trying to move her head from her pillow. “No need, but you’re welcome.”

“Actually, I think we should thank you for inviting us for dinner, making beds and all without even planning it.” Ed said making his toes wiggle, probably contemplating on wether he should take off his socks to sleep or not.

“And all this in a Christmas night. I think we should thank you for being our friend in general really.”

Silence filled the room before Isabel broke it again with a whisper.

“Leave it to Isaac to make things more dramatic than they need to be.”

“I wasn’t even—! Shut uup...” Isaac’s voice was muffled against his pillow but it carried no irritation, it sounded more like he was hiding a smile. When the chuckles of the group dissipated he talked again. “Goodnight guys.”

“Night!” Isabel said finally moving her face from the pillow, hugging it with her arms trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

Ed yawned and took off his glasses placing them gently on the table before completely nestling inside the cocoon he made with his sheets. “Noot night.”

Max looked over at his mother’s photo that sat above the desk in the corner, returning the wide smile she was showing with a small one of his own as tiredness started to wash over him. “Yeah, goodnight.”

**Author's Note:**

> If the ending seems rushed that’s because it is. I wanted to add many scenes more but then I would’ve posted this by January lmao  
> Well... I hope you guys had a good Christmas!! Sdjddkf And happy New Year! <33


End file.
